Dead Weather’s Jack White on Previewing ‘Sea of Cowards’ on Vinyl

“Try before you buy” is the new mantra of the music industry. Not a week goes by without an album being unveiled online, usually via a free audio stream that listeners can sample before the record goes on sale.

Today’s listening session comes with a twist. Or rather a spin, courtesy of the Dead Weather. The doomy blues rock quartet, featuring Jack White (of the White Stripes) and Alison Mosshart (The Kills) on vocals, is previewing its second album, “Sea of Cowards,” on vinyl. The LP is playing live, spinning on a yellow turntable in the Nashville headquarters of White’s Third Man Records. A microphone is picking up the music, which is streaming online. If the occasional needle pops are not enough, listeners can verify the analog source by checking the accompanying video. A webcam is aimed at the spinning record, which every so often is flipped over by disembodied hands. Sometimes the music stops so a Third Man attendant can clean dust from the needle.

The record marathon will continue until 1pm Saturday. Then the Dead Weather continues its high-concept Web campaign with a live concert on Monday on MySpace. The band will perform “Sea of Cowards” beginning to end. The location: A stage inside the Third Man building, in a big room adjacent to the lounge where that yellow record player sits.

Below, read a Q&A with Jack White, and listen to the Dead Weather album…or just wach it spin.

Wall Street Journal: It seems like there’s an arms race on in the music business, where everyone’s trying to to unveil their album in a new way.

Jack White: It’s basically one of the main reasons for starting the label. For every record I’ve put out for the last three or four years, there’s been some Internet trickery, some weird scenario in the marketing where they’re dictating how it looked and how it sounded. But if it was us doing it, we could do it our own way. We’re trying to do something now and present, but in a way that’s romantic and tangible. Those are hard things to marry together, and today I think we’re doing that. This is going to turn some teenage kids onto vinyl.

You’ve always been a spokesman for old technology, the analog aesthetic. But sometimes it seems like you’re scolding us for loving our iPhones and mp3s.

I’ve got an iPod too. I’m watching this [stream] on my computer. I have those gadgets as well. The problem comes up when people ask me about what I prefer. If I say I like the sound of a tape machine, it makes me sound like a luddite. But if you listened to a recording made on tape and one made on Pro-Tools, there’s no question. I’d like to take everybody one by one and show them that. But most fans don’t care, and artists don’t care.

But when you talk about turning teenagers onto vinyl, it sounds like a personal crusade.

It’s about having all the options on the table. I saw a report that surveyed 1,200 high school age students. Out of 1,200, zero had bought a record at a mom-and-pop record shop. How can you not be saddned by that?

You’ve done other media experiments, including the Third Man Records Vault, where members pay a fee to get access to limited edition merchandise and digital releases. How many members do you have?

It’s a secret. To keep the collectors and eBay flippers guessing. But it’s working out incredibly. The number one word now is “content.” If I hear that word one more time I’m going to jump off a cliff. They need more photos, more blips, more soundbites that will be easily digested and forgotten immediately. That was the impetus behind the Vault. Why not have real content where you get something special?

But that’s a hungry mouth to feed. Members are always judging whether they’re getting their money’s worth.

It’s tough. It’s a lot of work. That’s thing about content: People very quickly move on. It has to be handled properly. This quarter, we released on vinyl the first takes we did in the studio for the Dead Weather album. You could hear us recording the album before it was released. I don’t know if that’s been done before. I prefer that to a label repackaging an album three times on iTunes to make people pay for them again.

The songs on the album are very loose-jointed, with blues riffs that sound like they came from lots of jamming on stage.

It was a good time to make another record. We were touring like mad and all four of were writing. This is the first band I’ve been in where everyone writes. Then we’d hurry and record in my studio for a couple days then go back on the road. Sometimes we’d be playing along with the early demos for some tracks, just to keep the energy the same.

If you have a sort of brother-sister relationship with Meg White in the White Stripes, what member of your family is Alison Mosshart?

She’s some strange cousin that comes and stays for the summer. Which is funny, because Allison used to spend her summers in Detroit.

There seems to be an antagonism between the two of you, at least on record.

She can be really violent and highly energetic. She’s not easy like Sunday morning.

You recently released a White Stripes movie made up of footage from a tour in Canada. What do you learn about your performance by watching yourself on screen?

It’s tough. Years ago I forced myself to watch concert video. I wanted to get some place different. It was painful. Early on in the White Stripes, I was always standing really still on stage. I was afraid to move because people would think it was fake. I had to get rid of that. It was stupid.

What did you see in the more recent film?

I fet really good about how powerful that tour was. We were on the top of our game. I’m so glad we filmed that moment.

How has your voice changed over the years?

It’s tough. Every band I’m in means I’m on a bus full of smokers. I quit smoking in 2005, when I was working with Loretta Lynn. She gave me a look during recording when I was going for a high note.

But some of the changes must come from getting older, or stressing that voice night after night.

I never thought of myself as singer. I always thought of myself as a vocalist or an impressionist. I always think of the character in the song rather than the singing. I’ve never had a talent for carrying a tune or things like vibrato. If my voice changes, that’s life, you just carry on.

What are your plans for the next White Stripes album?

I don’t know. I haven’t talked to Meg about it. I have no idea when it would commence. It’s week by week for me.

About Speakeasy

Speakeasy is a blog covering media, entertainment, celebrity and the arts. The publication is produced by Barbara Chai and Jonathan Welsh with contributions from the Wall Street Journal staff and others. Write to us at speakeasy@wsj.com or follow us on Twitter at @WSJSpeakeasy or individually @barbarachai.